This 1992 Alfa Romeo 164 S would be the perfect car for someone who would love to own an Italian thoroughbred with plenty of comfort, but decent performance as well. This is a clean and rust-free vehicle that comes fully loaded and is ready to be driven and appreciated. The luxurious Alfa is located in Ste-Catherine-de-la-J-Cartier, Quebec, Canada, and is listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has only reached a paltry $1,150 at the time of writing, and the reserve hasn’t been met. There is a BIN option available, and this has been set at $8,500.
The 164 was in production from 1987 until 1998. During this period, and impressive 273,800 cars rolled off the production line. This one was built in 1992 and has survived extremely well over the past 27-years. The combination of Black and Grey looks almost menacing, and this impression is further emphasized by the Grey alloy wheels. The paint is in good condition, with only a few minor chips and marks. The worst of these is a scrape on the outer edge of the front spoiler on the passenger side. The rest of it looks to be very nicely preserved. Of course, when we start talking about cars of Italian origin, we start to feel nervous about potential rust issues. Fear not, because there are none to worry about with the Alfa. The closest that we get to this is some minor surface corrosion on the exhaust brackets. This isn’t major, but I would probably consider rectifying it fairly quickly. After all, there’s no point tempting fate, is there?
Climbing aboard this 164 S means sinking back into the lap of luxury. The interior trim has survived well over the years, and there are no real problems or issues to report. The predominantly yellowy/brown interior trim is something that people will either love or hate, but the leather seats look incredibly comfortable and supportive. As far as equipment and luxury appointments are concerned, it’s all here. You get climate control air conditioning, 6-way power seats with heating, power windows, power locks, a sunroof, a truly impressive premium radio/cassette player, power mirror adjustment, a wheel that is adjustable for height and reach, and a power trunk release.
There are no engine photos, but we know that under the hood is the beautiful 2,959cc V6 engine, which feeds its 183hp to a 5-speed manual transmission. For such a relatively small engine, performance is more than acceptable. A 164 will accelerate from 0-60 in around 8.5 seconds and will cover the ¼ mile in 16.7 seconds. What is truly impressive is the fact that it will then climb all the way to 143mph. The drive-train in this Alfa appears to be in very good health. The engine received a new timing belt within the last 3,000 kilometers, while it also received a recent service. The owner says that there are no odd noises from the motor, and provided that the maintenance has been performed correctly, there should be plenty of life left in the car yet. The car comes with a huge collection of documentation, and it looks like a comprehensive service history might be amongst that.
Italian cars always seem to have a flair and character that is entirely different from other cars. They aren’t always the most powerful cars on the planet, but they are always willing and can provide new drivers with a pleasant surprise. This one appears to be a nice example that has been the recipient of careful ownership. From a value perspective, they are really interesting. Normally, cars of this age will tend to devalue noticeably over time, but the 164, especially in “S” guise, has avoided that fate. In 1992, only 1,720 examples were imported into the USA, and good examples can be found for around the BIN for this car. Really good examples can fetch figures of twice that amount, and considering the condition and history of this 164 S, I think that the asking price represents a bit of a bargain.
I use to own one of these and we put over 400k miles on it. I am a big Alfa fan, but having said all that I just don’t really like these. The GTV6 and Milano that preceded these were much more fun to drive and maintain.
It is a comfortable cruiser but is not as much fun on the twisties
These are great GT cars. Drove mile at 140 in nys no . Engine sound is magnificent. Interior tan interiors were sourced Ferrari leather think called magnolia. Had the Milano as well agree not as agile or fun to drive but great comfortable GT
Yawn…….
At most it’s worth $4500 US. I bought and rehabbed a 1994 164Q, which had only 120,000 miles on it. They’re super-expensive to work on. It’s good that the timing belt and presumably water pump service was done. Having viewed just about every 164 listing that’s come up over the recent years I can confidently say sellers never get more than about 4500. Maybe a super-low mileage 1994 or 1995 car would get up to 10K.
If it’s an S, it has the high-compression engine and the hot cams, giving 200hp and 185 lb/ft of torque. Ours was one of those, and while all that urge was lots of fun its need for Premium fuel was a little annoying, and that heavy spoiler on the rear deck a major PITA; our balance springs were not up to the weight of that thing, and we needed to carry a stick to prop it open. Aside from all that it was a great cruiser, and while not as agile as the Milano through the canyons it was willing to play that game too. It very seldom made it clear which wheels were driving, unlike any other FWD car I’ve had, which was rather impressive.
Ours was just too dilapidated by the time we’d had it ten years, and with no takers we posted it FREE TO GOOD HOME, on the condition it get revived rather than parted out.
I will say that the stupidest fun I ever had with it was dropping the hammer in first gear. Within less than two seconds the steering wheel tries to break your wrist and the engine hits the rev limiter. Do NOT try this in traffic.
I bought a red S with this interior. Even though it was front wheel drive it could still hustle. If this one has been taken care of, this is a good deal for $8500. It is not as nimble as the other Alfa’s (I have a 71/1750 Spider) but still a very nice car. I would advise the seller to take a photo of the engine compartment.
Wow, a lot of car for a very low cost. I was managing a small dealership in Scottsdale Arizona in 1992, that sold Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Alfa and Maserati. We did a Christmas season display at a local resort with a red Bentley Turbo R, a red Maserati bi-turbo cabriolet, a red Alfa Spider Veloce and a red Alfa 164 S. The most fun was driving these 4 cars from the dealership to the event site. Great memories!
@JC Kevin: Secret to front-of-engine service access is to support the RF corner and remove the wheel, then the inner fender lining. My mechanic did this, I didn’t, but he showed me how (relatively) easy it made the process.
We gave ours away because its needs were beyond what the car was worth in SoCal at the time. This will not be a permanent situation; I am remembering the days of the Free Berlina, and just try to find one of those for cheap now. But our garage space would not let us keep it any longer.
I owned a 164S from early 90s to early 2000s. Drove it everywhere, even thru horrible Iowa winters. It was nearly flawless, with surprisingly few maintenance issues. I owned a Milano previously but found the 164S even more fun. Nice memory. Of course, after 10 years the fun had run its course, but what a memory. FWIW I just bought a Stelvio Ti Sport and the memories are coming back. It was a long, dry 20 years while Alfa was away.
ended at US$3003 with reserve not met.
The 164 appears to be the current version of the Free Berlina … which are actually commanding some money now. But one of our AROSC guys had a very solid non-S five-speed (which I really wanted, but not at the expense of Domestic Tranquility) on offer for $1500 OBO, and pulled the ad after a month or two of dead silence. My advice to the seller would be to store it carefully and exercise it regularly until the rest of us come to our senses.
3000. There ya go. I sold my 164Q for a bit more, but not much. There is a red 164S here in WA listed for sale …been maybe a year. He is down to 1900.